Tonneau cover lift

ABSTRACT

A tonneau cover lift; the tonneau cover lift includes a height-adjustable, lightweight tonneau cover assembly including a cover member and a rectangular frame supported by four telescoping, hydraulic support posts including a first-telescopic-leg, a second-telescopic-leg, a third-telescopic-leg, and a fourth-telescopic-leg. The cover member is sized and configured to cover a bed of a truck and may be remotely controlled using a remote activation unit. The tonneau cover lift expands a protected cargo capacity of a truck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following includes information that may be useful in understandingthe present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of theinformation provided herein is prior art nor material to the presentlydescribed or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or documentthat is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the field of truckaccessories of existing art and more specifically relates to tonneaucovers.

RELATED ART

Trucks are utilized for several purposes including transporting itemswithin a truck bed. Typically, truck beds are exposed to sunlight, heat,wind, and rain, which may damage goods or cargo in it. Therefore, truckbed covers are used in order to shield and protect the cargo. A varietyof structures and mechanisms have been developed for covering the truckbed area. Unfortunately, existing tonneau covers, camper shells, bedcovers, etc. only provide limited storage capacity and gear protection.Additionally, removing an existing cover in order to access contents ofthe bed of the truck requires at a minimum manual labor and often itrequires tools and several people to help. This is time consuming andinconvenient. A suitable solution is desired.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,799,787 to Mark M. Angelos relates to a transformabletruck bed cover. The described transformable truck bed cover includes atransformable truck bed cover that mounts on a pickup truck having anopen bed. The cover assembly is transformable in height between atonneau cover-like configuration and a fully elevated truck cap-likeconfiguration. The cover assembly is also transformable in lengthbetween a fully retracted position extending over the open bed only afew inches behind the truck's cab to a fully extended position coveringthe entire length of the bed. The cover assembly generally comprises twoanchoring rails fixedly attached to the sides of the truck bed, and twoor more articulated cover support assemblies, extending across the bed,with an attached flexible cover assembly. The support assemblies arepivotally secured to the anchoring rails such that they may be pivotedupward to form a cap-shaped covering. The cover support assemblies arealso slidably attached to the anchoring rails such that the flexiblecover may be extended or retracted, in an accordion-like fashion, alongthe truck bed's length. Transformation between any of the various heightor length configurations may be accomplished manually or automatically.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known tonneaucover art, the present disclosure provides a novel tonneau cover lift.The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be describedsubsequently in greater detail, is to provide an effective and efficienttonneau cover lift.

A tonneau cover lift is disclosed herein. The tonneau cover liftincludes a cover assembly comprising a cover member sized and configuredto cover a bed of a truck, a rectangular frame supporting the covermember, a first-telescopic-leg, a second-telescopic-leg, athird-telescopic-leg, a fourth-telescopic-leg, a plurality ofside-walls, and a remote activation unit provided for activation of andremotely controlling the cover assembly. The first-telescopic-leg, thesecond-telescopic-leg, the third-telescopic-leg, and thefourth-telescopic-leg each include mounting brackets for mounting thecover assembly on the bed of the truck. The first-telescopic-leg, thesecond-telescopic-leg, the third-telescopic-leg, and thefourth-telescopic-leg are in communication with the remote activationunit which is configured to activate and control movement of the coverassembly between a closed-condition and an open-condition.

For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages,and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is tobe understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achievedin accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus,the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achievesor optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught hereinwithout necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught orsuggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to benovel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in theconcluding portion of the specification. These and other features,aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become betterunderstood with reference to the following drawings and detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The figures which accompany the written portion of this specificationillustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, atonneau cover lift, constructed and operative according to the teachingsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift during an‘in-use’ condition, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift in an extended‘open-condition’ of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the tonneau cover lift of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter bedescribed in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein likedesignations denote like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to atonneau cover and more particularly to a tonneau cover lift as used toimprove the storage and protection of items stored within a bed of atruck.

Generally, the tonneau cover lift includes a height-adjustable,lightweight tonneau cover with adjustable side panels that can be raisedwhen cargo exceeds the height of its hosting bed. The side panels of thetonneau cover lift protect and shield cargo when the rectangular frameis raised. The tonneau cover lift includes a cover member and arectangular frame supported by four telescoping support posts includinga first-telescopic-leg, a second-telescopic-leg, a third-telescopic-leg,and a fourth-telescopic-leg. A motor is included for raising the supportposts. Removable sidewalls of pliant material attach to theaforementioned rectangular frame and may include translucent segments ofmaterial.

In a preferred embodiment, the rectangular frame of the tonneau coverlift is made of aluminum and comprises a substantially similar lengthand width to that of a cargo bed of a truck. Each length segment and one(1) width segment of the frame host a spring-loaded axle, and on each ofthese three (3) axles is a sheet of pliable tarpaulin. Fasteners areincluded at the hemline of the open plane of each sheet. Thiswidth-segment features a transparent window, made of craft plastic,strategically positioned to align with the rear cabin window of thehosting vehicle when fully extended. A free axle is hosted on theremaining width segment of the frame and hosts a sheet of pliabletarpaulin. This width-segment tarpaulin features a transparent window,made of craft plastic, strategically positioned to align with the rearcabin window of the hosting vehicle when fully extended. A magneticlining is included on the hemline of the open plane.

Projecting from corner portions of the rectangular frame are fourtelescoping support posts including a first-telescopic-leg, asecond-telescopic-leg, a third-telescopic-leg, a fourth-telescopic-leg.The support posts of the tonneau cover lift may expand by various means,such as but not limited to electric motor, hydraulics, pneumatics, andmanual operation. The support posts end with mounting brackets thatattach to a floor-portion of the bed by bolts. A battery-powered motorconnects by wire to each support post. Additionally, wiring extendingfrom the motor leads to a power button, which can be mounted in the bedor cabin of the hosting vehicle. A signal receiver is also included inthe motor for its activation by included remote control device, as wellas by smartphone that hosts the individual app aligned with this signalreceiver.

The tonneau cover lift may be produced in formats to accommodate coupeutility vehicles and/or utility trailers. In other embodiments, thetonneau cover lift may be adapted to fit on flatbed towable trailers. Anoriginal-equipment variation of the tonneau cover lift may feature solidplane walls that are contained within, and rise from, the sidewalls andtailgate of the hosting vehicle. The tonneau cover lift may furtherinclude a flooring panel.

A method of use is as follow: the tonneau cover lift may be applied to abed of a hosting truck using necessary mounting-fasteners. A user mayraise and lower the tonneau cover lift by use of its power button,remote control, or mobile application. With use of the tonneau coverlift cargo can be safely transported without risk of exposure toelements, without risk of accidentally falling from the cargo bed, andwithout risk of damages, accidents, and injuries from such falls.Additionally, by shielding cargo from plain view the tonneau cover liftcan significantly reduce instances of theft.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals ofreference, there is shown in FIGS. 1-6, various views of a tonneau coverlift 100.

FIG. 1 shows a tonneau cover lift 100 during an ‘in-use’ condition,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Here, the tonneaucover lift 100 may be beneficial for use by a user to ensure that allcontents of a bed 5 of a truck 10 remain protected and enclosed evenwhen a height of the contents exceed a cargo bed wall height. Asillustrated, the tonneau cover lift 100 may comprise a cover assembly110 including a cover member 112 sized and configured to cover a bed 5of a truck 10, a rectangular frame 114 supporting the cover member 112,a first-telescopic-leg 116, a second-telescopic-leg 118, athird-telescopic-leg 120, a fourth-telescopic-leg 122, a plurality ofsidewalls 124, and a remote activation unit 126 provided for activationof and remotely controlling the cover assembly 110. The tonneau coverlift 100 expands a protected cargo capacity of a truck 10.

The first-telescopic-leg 116, the second-telescopic-leg 118, thethird-telescopic-leg 120, and the fourth-telescopic-leg 122 each includemounting brackets 128 for mounting the cover assembly 110 on the bed 5of the truck 10. The first-telescopic-leg 116, the second-telescopic-leg118, the third-telescopic-leg 120, and the fourth-telescopic-leg 122 arein communication with the remote activation unit 126. The remoteactivation unit 126 may be used to activate and control movement of thecover assembly 110 between a closed-condition and an open-condition.

The first-telescopic-leg 116, the second-telescopic-leg 118, thethird-telescopic-leg 120, and the fourth-telescopic-leg 122 arepreferably motor driven. The first-telescopic-leg 116, thesecond-telescopic-leg 118, the third-telescopic-leg 120, and thefourth-telescopic-leg 122 each comprise a motor 130 configured to raiseand lower the cover assembly 110 in relation to the bed 5 of the truck10 when activated. The motor 130 of the first-telescopic-leg 116, thesecond-telescopic-leg 118, the third-telescopic-leg 120, and thefourth-telescopic-leg 122 is battery-powered and connected to arespective one of the first-telescopic-leg 116, thesecond-telescopic-leg 118, the third-telescopic-leg 120, and thefourth-telescopic-leg 122 via wiring. The remote activation unit 126 mayinclude a mountable button 132 and a key fob 134. The mountable button132 may be mounted in a vehicle-cabin or outside a vehicle and may bedirectly wired to an electric system of the host-vehicle. Additionally,a mobile application is provided which is downloadable to and hosted ona smartphone having a user-display.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift 100 in anextended ‘open-condition’ of FIG. 1, according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The plurality of sidewalls 124 of the cover assembly110 are flexible and in a preferred embodiment comprise a sheet ofweatherproof tarpaulin material. The plurality of sidewalls 110 includea right-side-panel 136, a left-side-panel 138, a front-panel 141, and arear-panel 140. During an installed condition, the right-side-panel 136is positioned along a ride-side of a vehicle, the left-side-panel 138 ispositioned along a left-side of a vehicle, and the rear-panel 140 ispositioned along a tailgate of a vehicle.

The plurality of sidewalls 110 are retractable and hosted upon springloaded rollers. The plurality of sidewalls 110 further include fastenersfor securing the plurality of sidewalls 110 to the bed 5 of the truck 10during use. The fasteners are positioned on an open plane of each of theplurality of sidewalls 110 and are configured to secure the plurality ofsidewalls 110 to the bed 5 of the truck 10 for use. The right-side-panel136 and the left-side-panel 138 each include a sidewall hook 142. Therear-panel 140 and front-panel 141 each comprise a magnetic-fastener 144and further include a transparent window 146. The transparent windows146 are in alignment with a rear cabin window of the truck 10 when in afully extended condition. Throughout transport, a driver can stillsafely see through a rear-view mirror of the truck 10 due to thetransparent window 146.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift 100 of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The plurality ofsidewalls 124 of the tonneau cover lift 100 prevent cargo from fallingfrom a bed 5 of a truck 10 during vehicle motion. Additionally, theplurality of sidewalls 124 prevent damage to cargo and exposure toelements, such as UV rays, heat, rain and road splash, during vehiclemotion. The sidewalls 124 of the tonneau cover lift 100 may be made ofvarious pliable materials applicability, such as but not limited totarpaulin, vinyl, and waterproofed canvas.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cover member 112 is foldable and comprises atri-fold planar body in a preferred embodiment. The cover member 112 maybe composed of a various number of segments, and which may attach toeach other by various means. Additionally, the cover member 112 may bemade in various tonneau formats, such as but not limited to tri-fold,hinged, and retractable. The cover member 112 may be removable from therectangular frame 114. In yet other embodiments, the cover member 112may be a fabric tonneau cover, hosted on a retractable cylinder. Variousfabrics of applicability, such as but not limited to tarpaulin andwaterproofed canvas, may be used in said variations. The cover member112 of the tonneau cover lift 100 may comprise various materials,including but not limited to fiberglass, high density polyethylene(HDPE), and aluminum. The tonneau cover lift 100 may be made in variousspecific sizes and shapes to fit within the bed 5 of specific makes andmodels of trucks 10 and coupe utility vehicles. The rectangular frame114 of the tonneau cover lift 100 may be made of various materials ofapplicability, including but not limited to aluminum, aluminum alloy,and stainless steel.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tonneau cover lift 100 of FIG. 1,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated,the cover assembly 110 comprises the cover member 112, the rectangularframe 114, the first-telescopic-leg 116, the second-telescopic-leg 118,the third-telescopic-leg 120, the fourth-telescopic-leg 122, theplurality of sidewalls 124, and the remote activation unit 126. Thetonneau cover lift 100 increases storage capacity of a hosting bed 5 ofa truck 10 allowing the bed 5 to host more items.

FIG. 6 a bottom perspective view of the tonneau cover lift 100 of FIG.1, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, theplurality of sidewalls 124 are hosted upon spring-loaded rollers. Thespring-loaded rollers may be removable from the rectangular frame 114.

The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary andnumerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readilyenvisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which areintended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention.Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application.

What is claimed is new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:
 1. A tonneau cover lift, the tonneaucover lift comprising: a cover assembly including; a cover member sizedand configured to cover a bed of a truck; a rectangular frame supportingsaid cover member; a first-telescopic-leg; a second-telescopic-leg; athird-telescopic-leg; a fourth-telescopic-leg; a plurality of sidewalls;and a remote activation unit provided for activation of and remotelycontrolling said cover assembly; wherein said first-telescopic-leg, saidsecond-telescopic-leg, said third-telescopic-leg, and saidfourth-telescopic-leg each include mounting brackets for mounting saidcover assembly on said bed of said truck; wherein saidfirst-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg, saidthird-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg are incommunication with said remote activation unit, said remote activationunit activating and controlling movement of said cover assembly betweena closed-condition and an open-condition; and wherein saidfirst-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg, saidthird-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg are motor drivenand each comprise a motor configured to raise and lower said coverassembly in relation to said bed of said truck when activated.
 2. Thetonneau cover lift of claim 1, wherein said remote activation unitincludes a mountable button.
 3. The tonneau cover lift of claim 2,wherein said remote activation unit includes a mobile applicationdownloadable to and hosted on a smartphone having a user-display.
 4. Thetonneau cover lift of claim 3, wherein said remote activation unitfurther includes a key fob.
 5. The tonneau cover lift of claim 1,wherein said plurality of sidewalls are flexible and comprise a sheet ofweatherproof tarpaulin material.
 6. The tonneau cover lift of claim 5,wherein said plurality of sidewalls includes a right-side-panel, aleft-side-panel, front-panel, and a rear-panel.
 7. The tonneau coverlift of claim 6, wherein said right-side-panel, said left-side-panel,and said front-panel are retractable and hosted upon spring loadedrollers.
 8. The tonneau cover lift of claim 7, wherein said plurality ofsidewalls further include fasteners for securing said plurality ofsidewalls to said bed of said truck during use.
 9. The tonneau coverlift of claim 8, wherein said fasteners are positioned on an open planeof each of said plurality of side-walls and are configured to securesaid plurality of side-walls to said bed of said truck for use.
 10. Thetonneau cover lift of claim 9, wherein said right-side-panel and saidleft-side-panel each include a sidewall hook.
 11. The tonneau cover liftof claim 10, wherein said front-panel and said rear-panel each comprisea magnetic-fastener.
 12. The tonneau cover lift of claim 11, whereinsaid front-panel and said rear-panel each further include a transparentwindow.
 13. The tonneau cover lift of claim 12, wherein said transparentwindows are in alignment with a rear cabin window of said truck when ina fully extended condition.
 14. The tonneau cover lift of claim 2,wherein said mountable button is directly wired to an electric system ofsaid host-vehicle.
 15. The tonneau cover lift of claim 3, wherein saidmobile application is in communication with said cover assembly andconfigured to control expanding and retracting of saidfirst-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg, saidthird-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg.
 16. The tonneaucover lift of claim 1, wherein said motor of said first-telescopic-leg,said second-telescopic-leg, said third-telescopic-leg, and saidfourth-telescopic-leg is battery-powered and connected to a respectiveone of said first-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg, saidthird-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg via wiring.
 17. Thetonneau cover lift of claim 7, wherein said spring loaded rollers areremovable from said rectangular frame.
 18. The tonneau cover lift ofclaim 1, wherein said cover member is foldable and comprises a tri-foldplanar body.
 19. The tonneau cover lift of claim 18, wherein said covermember is removable from said rectangular frame.
 20. A tonneau coverlift, the tonneau cover lift comprising: a cover assembly including; acover member sized and configured to cover a bed of a truck; arectangular frame supporting said cover member; a first-telescopic-leg;a second-telescopic-leg; a third-telescopic-leg; afourth-telescopic-leg; a plurality of sidewalls; and a remote activationunit provided for activation of and remotely controlling said coverassembly; wherein said first-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg,said third-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg each includemounting brackets for mounting said cover assembly on said bed of saidtruck; wherein said first-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg,said third-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg are incommunication with said remote activation unit, said remote activationunit activating and controlling movement of said cover assembly betweena closed-condition and an open-condition; wherein saidfirst-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg, saidthird-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg are motor drivenand each comprise a motor configured to raise and lower said coverassembly in relation to said bed of said truck when activated; whereinsaid remote activation unit includes a mountable button, a key fob, anda mobile application hosted on a smartphone; wherein said mobileapplication is in communication with said cover assembly and configuredto control expanding and retracting of said first-telescopic-leg, saidsecond-telescopic-leg, said third-telescopic-leg, and saidfourth-telescopic-leg; wherein said plurality of sidewalls are flexibleand comprise a sheet of weatherproof tarpaulin material; wherein saidplurality of sidewalls includes a right-side-panel, a left-side-panel,front-panel, and a rear-panel; wherein said right-side-panel, saidleft-side-panel, and said front-panel are retractable and hosted uponspring loaded rollers; wherein said plurality of sidewalls furtherinclude fasteners for securing said plurality of sidewalls to said bedof said truck during use; wherein said fasteners are positioned on anopen plane of each of said plurality of sidewalls and are configured tosecure said plurality of sidewalls to said bed of said truck for use;wherein said right-side-panel and said left-side-panel each include asidewall hook; wherein said front-panel and said rear-panel eachcomprise a magnetic-fastener; wherein said front-panel and saidrear-panel each further include a transparent window; wherein saidtransparent windows are each in alignment with a rear cabin window ofsaid truck when in a fully extended condition; wherein saidfirst-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg, saidthird-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg are hydraulicallyoperated; wherein said spring loaded rollers are removable from saidrectangular frame; wherein said motor of said first-telescopic-leg, saidsecond-telescopic-leg, said third-telescopic-leg, and saidfourth-telescopic-leg is battery-powered and connected to a respectiveone of said first-telescopic-leg, said second-telescopic-leg, saidthird-telescopic-leg, and said fourth-telescopic-leg via wiring; whereinsaid mountable button is directly wired to a host-vehicle-motor; whereinsaid cover member is foldable and comprises a tri-fold planar body; andwherein said cover member is removable from said rectangular frame.